What simple seasonal pleasures are you still able to enjoy despite the pandemic?

When this whole Pandemic started I hunkered down and got into doing one

large puzzle 27 inches by 20 inches and then progressed into another large one.
Got so good at it that I finished both within ten days or less.

I turned those two into trays on my coffee table( under a frame suitable for this size).

Since I couldn’t imagine having so many more puzzles laying around my small apartment it progressed to Face Book groups that had digitalized puzzles online.

I joined Manitoba History Group of which one gentleman began producing his photographs of old Churches ( Mostly Ukrainian and also others ) .

His images were converted into digital puzzles of which others on Facebook joined during

this Pandemic to work on first this in the mornings to combat boredom then it became an

obsession and competition among us to see how fast one can get it completed ( minutes) and we posted our times.

It had been 8 months of fun and we all learned to quickly recognize and complete a variety of

puzzle shaped pieces and different sizes. Our Spatial intelligence soared!

I now concentrate on creative software projects and have moved on .

Fall is good biking weather. I’ve been pedaling a lot throughout the pandemic. Some days it was the only reason I would leave home.

@Call_Me_Jay I just got my two old Ross road bikes in shape yesterday. Will probably ride some today although I’m a pretty tentative biker nowadays.

Cool weather long walks with the pup. Dipping into all the fabulous teas I have. Winter foods, roasting all the stuff, from chickens to veg, to some apple things.
And who knew that the masks would be a comfort when the mornings are so chilly?

Leaf peeping. I love driving around checking out the amazing colors.

Farm stands. We can still go to local farms to get veggies and cider doughnuts.

I dragged my old bike out of the shed, which I haven’t ridden in years, in the hopes of getting it fixed up. Hopefully I can get enough free time to actually do it.

Omigod, @cookieman, cider donuts! I go nuts for cider donuts! Our local Stop & Shop has outstanding cider donuts, even ciderier than the farmstands!

@janbb Glad to see you got your bikes ready for the road. I know you were planning that a while ago.

@cookieman @canidmajor Had a cider donut for lunch yesterday from our local bakery So good!

@Call_Me_Jay Just took a short warm up ride around my neighborhood. There’s a lot of traffic at times further out so I may just stick to real local. But it made a nice change from the walking I usually do.

Nothing so far, but it isn’t the pandemic’s fault; the weather has been in the 90s all month. It’s still basically summer here. Next month things should cool down. Last November I went for a lot of hikes. I’m planning on doing that this year if places are open.

Where I live, there are orchards, along with hiking trails, lakes and other things. I haven’t yet done anything seasonal. We stopped at an orchard once, on a week night. During the weekend, there are tons of people coming up from NYC and points south, and the traffic is horrendous.

I agree with @canidmajor, there are great cider donuts to be had from Stop and Shop and Shop Rite. I try not to buy them, because after a few days I get sick of them and end up throwing them out, plus I really don’t need them.

I have a pressure washer and have been trying to pressure wash my deck. My goal is to seal it this week, before the cold weather comes. Time is of the essence.

Walking through the crunchy leaves in our yard. I just love that sound.

I’ve been riding my Trek Antelope bike almost every day for the past 2 weeks. I replaced the seat with something very comfortable for a 60s year old guy without a prostate and it is now a pleasure to ride. I also put on new pedals since the ones I had been using were grinding and making a lot of noise.
The bike gives me an excuse to fiddle with things to make it better. Today, I saturated the chain and mechanisms with garage door spray so they were dripping filthy black gunk on the gravel driveway. I wiped it down with paper towels and then I used the spray nozzle on my compressor to blow all the dirt off. I resprayed it with Remington Gun Oil with Teflon. Everything looks and feels so nice now.

@LuckyGuy Oh, you just wanted an excuse to fiddle with techie stuff!

@jca2 I buy the six packs and freeze them in pairs. Keeps me from from gorge-gobbling.

What happens with me is I buy things like that, or I may make something like pumpkin bread, and after about two or three days I’m sick of it and end up throwing it out. Maybe I’ll try the freezer method and see if that helps, @canidmajor

@janbb Yes. After almost every ride I find something to fiddle with or improve. the seat should be ½ taller, the brake cable should be tightened ½ a turn. The gap between the pedal and the frame has gunk in it and must be cleaned. I need a better way to hold my wallet and phone. And so on….
Like a top sushi chef who spends more time cleaning and sharpening his knives than slicing, I fiddle and diddle more than I ride.

^Nothing wrong with a little fiddling and diddling. Oh wait, we’re talking bikes. My bad.

@chyna lol!

I’ve had my sliding glass doors open to my patio part of the day, which extends my living room and lets the fresh air in. I love it.

I did zumba on my patio yesterday.

Been sitting outside with friends catching up.

Bought some honey crisp apples, Wheatina, and pea soup. All things I eat during the fall and winter.

Edit: @jca2 I freeze cake and cookies all of the time. I eat half and freeze half.

I just sit out on a my porch a spell when I get off work in the morning, chat with the wife and enjoy some coffee. Now that it’s finally cooler in the A.M.s

i’ve continued to ride every day. Just got in from a 2.5 mile ride. But more importantly, I fiddle-diddled with the placement of the kick stand. In the up position it now extends only ¼ inch past the frame. It was at 2 inches past the frame and my heel would occasionally touch it. Now it is in the perfect position.
I also sprayed a light coating of Rem oil on the gears and shifters. Slick!

@LuckyGuy Your’e the Energizer Bunny!

^He’s still fiddling and diddling.

Still at it. Yesterday I did a casual 2 mile ride that took 13 minutes – very casual. I spent 30 minutes fiddling and diddling: installed a helmet mirror and lubricated the chain.

More fiddling and diddling. Two days ago I added Night Rider 250 lumen headlight and a 100 lumen flashing taillight. I am ready to ride in the dark. I probably won’t but I can now.

^Love fiddling and diddling!

@chyna Now you’re starting to sound like you’re propositioning @LuckyGuy!!! ;-)

^^ But he licked his lips at me first when he was making the video – or was it at his bike??